by Donna Freydkin, USA TODAY

by Donna Freydkin, USA TODAY

In On the Road, we see a far more mature side of Kristen Stewart -- and certainly more of her in general. She shows skin. She has sex. She does drugs.

The Walter Salles-directed film is based on Jack Kerouac's book and co-stars Stewart as the on- and off-again love interest of troubled free spirit Dean Moriarty (Garrett Hedlund).

Over wine at the Tribeca Grand hotel, Stewart, 22, was happy to discuss her career, the end of the Twilight film saga, her love of cooking and her discomfort with being in the spotlight. As for curiosity about her relationship with Robert Pattinson?

Stewart, never one to spill her guts in public, isn't about to start now, especially in the wake of photos that surfaced earlier this year of her getting frisky with another guy, director Rupert Sanders.

"People think they knew a lot about me before. They know even less now. People will project whatever. It's a huge form of entertainment. As soon as you step outside your own life and look at it like that and think that you can shape something -- you need to live your life. I'm just going to live my life, actually," she says.

A few highlights from the late-afternoon chat:

On the end of the Twilight franchise: "I never felt stuck in that. Not at all. I had so many opportunities in the midst of that to do a million things. If it kept me from doing other things, I still wouldn't resent it. You start a project to finish it. I was eager to get back and finish the story. (On the Road) wasn't me stepping out to do a different thing to liberate myself."

On her fame: "There are a few things that make it seem (expletive) real. It's all totally circumstantial. You sound like you're complaining. I sit in restaurants and the real normal reaction to seeing a famous person in a restaurant -- because it's so weird -- is that people laugh or smile or look over. I feel like I'm in the sixth grade and everyone in the room is laughing at me. Some people can come into a room and say hello to everyone and it's fine. I'm not that person. I don't think I'm very approachable. That's good, though. Rob is (noticed) way more than I am, especially if we're out together. He's so recognizable and I'm not. I put a hood on and I'm a girl with long hair. I can go out."

On the misconception that she's cold and unfriendly: "People think I'm fairly unapproachable, which is crazy. If I ever meet anyone who's into Twilight, there's nothing like having someone be like, 'I love that thing.' This is a very relatable feeling."

On being reserved: "My friends literally applaud me when I go ask where the bathroom is. Or if I'm like, 'can we get another round of drinks?' You really took the bull by the horns! I can't imagine a quality I dislike more in a person (than being entitled)."